I started my working life early. At 17, I joined the military and was honorably released at 21. From there, I went to work on the oil rigs in Northern Canada, saving money for college and learning firsthand what hard work, discipline, and accountability really mean. After college, my first connection to the construction industry came through a commercial contractor, where I worked installing windows on high-rise office buildings from a swing stage. It was demanding work, but it gave me an early appreciation for the people who build, manage, and carry real responsibility in the field. I was later challenged to move into Enterprise Sales in the telecommunications industry, selling complex capital equipment and related systems. That experience taught me how to sell, how to listen, how to qualify opportunities, and how to help business owners and decision-makers think through important investments. In 1998, I made a lateral move into the management consulting industry. Over the next 28 years, I worked with small to mid-market companies across the United States, many of them in the trades and built environment. During that time, I had the opportunity to meet with and work around more than 5,000 contractor and trade-related businesses. That experience gave me a clear view of what often happens as contractor businesses grow. The owner works harder, the company gains momentum, but the systems, structure, people, accountability, and financial visibility do not always keep up. Eventually, the owner becomes the operating system holding everything together. I was also involved in three start-ups during that time launching and building professional consulting firms with multiple employees. I learned early what it meant to meet payroll. The first grew to more than 80 employees in six years. The second was, to put it honestly, an experiment that folded after two years. The third began in 2014, when I became a co-founder, minority owner, and one of the original six people who helped launch a management consulting firm. In under four years, the firm grew from six employees to more than 120, employees and achieved a reported 1,900% growth rate, and earned a place on the Inc. 500 list at number 243 among the fastest-growing companies in America. In May 2020, during the height of COVID, I chose to step away. I wanted more time with my family, more optionality, and the ability to decide what the next chapter should look like. In the summer of 2024, I met George Lauber while working on a project in Atlanta. Neither of us was ready to retire, and we both believed there was a better way to serve small and mid-market contractors. We wanted to provide practical, senior-level advisory support on a fixed-fee basis, not hourly billing — so contractors could get experienced help without the open-ended cost structure that often makes consulting difficult for small business owners. That idea became Shapcott Lauber, LLC. In 2025, George experienced unforeseen personal challenges that required his time and attention away from the business. We agreed that I would take over the business 100%, with George remaining available as a Senior Advisor. Today, Shapcott Lauber is positioned as a forward-thinking boutique advisory firm serving small to mid-market contractors throughout the Southeast and Texas. Our work is focused on helping owner-led contractors build stronger businesses through better systems, clearer accountability, improved financial visibility, stronger business development discipline, and less owner dependence. At the center of my work is a simple belief: contractors do not need more theory. They need practical structure, experienced guidance, and a clear path to build a business that performs better, creates more value, and gives the owner greater control over the future. My passion is to help them achieve that.